Motorist fined $2710 after sneaky camera on one of Australia’s busiest roads

EXCLUSIVE

A furious motorist who copped a massive £2,710 fine has lashed out at a ‘confusing’ speed limit sign after he was booked by a camera going 20km/h over the limit.

Fayaz Khan was driving through the M4 East Tunnel when the speed camera caught him travelling at 64km/h in a temporary 40km/h zone on November 15 at about 7pm.

Mr Khan was among hundreds of drivers who were forced to slow down on the motorway that night after a car broke down in the left lane with traffic heading eastbound towards Croydon, in Sydney[3]‘s inner west.

The speed limit, which is usually 80km/h, was reduced to allow the vehicle to be moved and for traffic to merge safely in the middle and right lanes.

Mr Khan told Daily Mail Australia the 40km/h zone was enforced for more than a kilometre after cars passed the broken-down hatchback that was being towed by two trucks.

Dozens of drivers, including Mr Khan, safely accelerated once past the obstruction thinking they were in the clear – only to be slapped with hefty fines days later.

Fayaz Khan (pictured) was hit with a £2,710 fine after a speed camera in the M4 East Tunnel caught him going over the variable limit – even though he had safely passed the obstruction

‘They were just towing one little car… but when [drivers] drove past [the tow trucks], the 40 sign [was left] on until after the [speed] cameras,’ he said.

‘We slowed down to 60 and then 40 for the incident, and once we passed the incident the 40 [zone] should have been abolished.’

Images from the digital speed camera fitted into the tunnel show drivers slowing down in the middle and right lanes with the trucks parked in the left lane.

A large rectangular sign displaying flashing yellow lights telling drivers to slowly merge to the right can be seen.

Mr Khan said it was ‘unnecessary’ for the 40km/h zone to be extended well past the location of the incident.

‘When you go past the incident, you automatically speed up… you’re gone,’ he added.

Mr Khan claims the dozens of drivers who were in front of him at the time would have been slapped with fines too because they also sped up once they passed the broken-down car.

He was given until December 21 to nominate a driver and pay the fine otherwise risk paying the amount in full.

Mr Khan, who runs a rental car business, was driving a white Audi sedan that was a registered hire car at the time he was booked for speeding.

He was charged five times the normal amount because he was driving a car registered to a company at the time of the alleged offence.

A broken-down car inside the motorway forced the speed limit to change

Mr Khan (pictured driving a white Audi sedan) said that once drivers passed the broken-down car in the left lane they started to slowly speed up.

However, for some reason the 40hm/h speed limit was still enforced for some distance after the lane blockage

A spokesperson from Revenue NSW told Daily Mail Australia that drivers who have been booked for speeding in a company vehicle can have their fine reduced to £702 by nominating a driver.

Mr Khan said he hadn’t nominated a driver – even though he was driving the vehicle – because he planned to contest the fine in court.

He uploaded a post to Facebook saying he would consider forming a class action along with other drivers who were also fined.

He criticised the variable speed limits in the M4 East Tunnel, which he said are frustrating for drivers and can lead to collisions.

‘If you’re driving [on the] M4 when you’re approaching Parramatta, the speed changes three times,’ he said.

‘You don’t want to cause accidents… that’s what this [variable speed limit] does.’

Several motorists have been hit with hefty fines recently while driving in the tunnel unaware they were clocked going above the variable speed limit.

A week after Mr Khan was booked for the alleged offence, his friend was fined for a similar infringement after he was caught driving 56km/h in a 40km zone in the tunnel.

An Uber driver was hit with a £481 fine after he was booked going 72km/h in the same zone in 2019, with the offence carrying a loss of four demerit points.

The driver claimed the speed limit was suddenly reduced to 40km while he was taking the exit ramp to Croydon.

Mr Khan, who was driving a hire car (pictured) at the time, said the 40km/h variable speed limit sign should not have been extended once drivers had passed the broken-down vehicle

Motorists driving a car registered to a business who are caught speeding on motorways and tunnels in NSW face hefty fines

A Transport for NSW spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that several signs had been installed along the motorway to alert drivers to changes to speed limits.

‘Transport for NSW has measures in place to ensure motorists are aware variable speed limits are enforced in the tunnels, through the use of advisory signs such as “Speed camera ahead in tunnel” and “Variable speed limit enforced”,’ the spokesperson said.

‘[There are also] illuminated, electronic variable speed limit signs which display the current speed limit, throughout the tunnels.’

Motorists must slow to down to 40km/h when passing tow trucks or emergency vehicles for speed limits of 80km/h or less on roads in NSW.

Variable speed limit signs are placed in tunnels and motorways to ensure drivers adjust to a change in traffic conditions.

These speed limits are displayed through electronic signs with the speed limit inside a red circle.

Drivers caught going more than 20km above the limit face a £542 fine.

The latest figures from Revenue NSW show more than 4,800 fines were handed to motorists caught speeding in the M4 East Tunnel heading eastbound, totalling more than £2.3million.

More than 2,400 drivers were fined in August, amounting to about £1.3million.

A week after Mr Khan was fined, his friend (pictured driving a white Toyota Camry) was fined for a similar infringement

A Transport for NSW spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that several signs had been installed along the motorway to alert drivers to changes to speed limits

The latest figures from Revenue NSW show more than 4,800 fines were handed to motorists caught speeding in the M4 East Tunnel heading eastbound, totalling more than £2.3million

Drivers in NSW can be fined a maximum of £2,794 if they go 45km/h or more on roads in NSW, including tunnels and motorways.

The M4 East Tunnel is part of the £16.8billion WestConnex road and tunnel project introduced by the NSW government to reduce traffic from Sydney’s west to the east.

The tunnel, which opened in July 2019, connects the M4 in Sydney’s west, including Parramatta, to the city’s east, saving drivers more than half an hour in travel time.

The final stage of WestConnex was unveiled last month with the Rozelle interchange opened to commuters connecting the M4 to the Anzac Bridge and the M8 to the City West Link and Victoria Road.

References

1. ^ £300K in fines issued to residents (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ Pranav Harish For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ Sydney (www.dailymail.co.uk)